City of Pensacola Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – April 8, 2010 – Gov. Charlie Crist reinforced his message Wednesday to lawmakers considering legislation that would allow insurance companies to boost property insurance premiums on home and business owners.

His advice: Don’t do it.

“This is the last time that people need to have property insurance go up,” Crist warned. “If there is any legislation that comes to my desk that would do that I will veto it and happily do so.”

Crist said he didn’t think legislators would attempt to overturn it.

“I can’t imagine how many members of the House and Senate would want to override a veto that reduces property insurance,” he said. “They would do so at their own peril.”

The Republican governor, who is leaving that office to seek his party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate in August, has been fighting members of his own party on the issue the past two years.

Just last week, former Gov. Jeb Bush weighed in, noting that the failure of several undercapitalized insurers could bankrupt the state and that the private insurance market should be bolstered.

Crist made an unusual appearance in a Senate committee last month to oppose legislation proposed by Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, that would let property insurers offer unregulated rates to homeowners.

Crist vetoed a similar bill last year that would have given homeowners a choice to pay higher, unregulated rates for insurance covering hurricanes, fires and other hazards from well-funded national companies.

Florida residents with auto, residential property or commercial property insurance policies are already paying a 1 percent assessment to shore up the Hurricane Catastrophe Fund tagged with huge losses after the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. They would be liable for much higher assessments if the CAT fund and the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. were unable to pay claims.

Citizens was created by the Legislature in 2002 as a safety net to offer property coverage to homeowners without private insurance options, although not necessarily at cheaper rates.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press, Brent Kallestad, Associated Press Writer

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WASHINGTON – April 12, 2010 – Interest rates are likely to remain low into 2011, Federal Reserve policymakers hinted this week in at least two presentations. These indications came one week after the Fed shut down its program to buy mortgage-backed securities, which had kept rates at or near record lows in recent months.

In a speech Thursday, Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo said, “The relatively modest pace of recovery, the continued high rate of unemployment, subdued inflation trends, and well-anchored inflation expectations together suggest that the need for highly accommodative monetary policies will not diminish soon.”

Likewise, Donald Kohn, Fed vice chairman in a speech in San Francisco, said the Fed would raise rates, “in due course,” but he also noted that low rates “help offset the lingering restraining effects on economic activity and prices.”

So far, rates have risen modestly, but analysts speculate they will likely become much more volatile down the road.

“It’s an uncertain type of market,” says Keith Gumbinger of HSH.com.

Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics for the Mortgage Bankers Association, predicts that the Fed will have created a situation where there are days or weeks of low-rate opportunities, and other days and weeks when rates rise significantly.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiraos (04/08/2010), and The Wall Street Journal, Jon Hilsenrath (04/09/2010)

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WASHINGTON – April 12, 2010 – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it would allow electronically signed documents in transactions involving home loan guarantees by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The National Association of Realtors^® (NAR) praised the decision.

In a Mortgagee Letter released last week, HUD announced guidance for accepting electronically signed documents from third parties, that is, sales contracts.

“This is a great step forward in speeding up the real estate transaction and making it easier for buyers, sellers and real estate professionals to complete transactions timely and efficiently, ” says NAR President Vicki Cox Golder. “We applaud FHA’s refreshing attitude towards modernization and making electronic signature capabilities acceptable for its mortgage transactions.”

Second Century Ventures, NAR’s venture capital arm, offers an e-signature tool, DocuSign.

According to Dale Stinton, NAR chief executive officer, the e-signature process is convenient and legally compliant. Rather than driving across town or forcing clients to find a fax machine, real estate professionals can execute agreements with buyers and sellers electronically, eliminating the old process of printing, faxing and waiting for a return fax.

© 2010 Florida Realtors® blogged by Jeannette Spencer

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Homebuyer Assistance Programs
On Nov. 6, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law an extension and expansion of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. Among other provisions, the extension adds money for certain move-up buyers; creates one deadline for signing a contract and a later deadline for closing; changes income requirements; and limits a purchased home’s cost to $800,000.

Jeannette Spencer  877-461-9907

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Tax credit extended for active duty military

WASHINGTON – March 16, 2010 – U.S. servicemen out of the country for 90 days (since 2008) may have an extra year to get the tax credit, up to $8,000, for buying a home.

The active-duty rule is not new. It’s part of the current tax credit law, though its use is limited. The qualification must be for “official extended duty outside the United States for at least 90 days after 2008 and before May 1, 2010.”

Should that be the case, however, the homebuyer has an extra year to buy a home. He or she has until April 30, 2011, to secure a binding contract, and until June 30, 2011 to close on the home. Other conditions such as a maximum $8,000 for first-time buyers and $6,500 for move-up buyers still apply.

For advice in any specific case, consult a qualified tax advisor. The applicable IRS publication is posted online (PDF format) at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p3.pdf

Jeannette Spencer, Pensacola Florida Realtor 877-461-9907

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